Shoe and shank piece and method of making the same



Oct. 23, 1934.

F. L. BRANDT 1,977,906

SHOE AND SHANK PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 25. 1932 2' Sheets-Sheet, l

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F. L. BRANDT Get 23, 1934.

SHOE AND SHARK PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

Filed May 25. 1932 lllllltll Q i E 51 Patented Get. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC snoE AND sn'A-NK PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME,

Application May 25, 1932, Serial No. 613,405

23 Claims. (01. 36-76) This invention relates to improvements in shoes and shank pieces therefor, and to improved methods of making the same. I

In a copending application, Serial No. 419,666, died January 9; 1930, which matured into Pat ent- No. 1,913,424, dated June 13, 1933, in the name of F. C. Ayling, there is disclosed a welt shoe having a metallic shank stiffener between its inner and outer soles and having a wood heel attached 10 by means of a single screw fastener which extends through both soles and is screwed into the heel and which extends also through and fits snugly within a circular aperture or eye in the rear portion of the shank stiffener so as to provide a rigid connection between the stiffener and the heel, as well as to secure the heel to the shoe. The copending application above referred to also discloses an improved method of making shoes of the type in which a heel-attaching screw extends through an aperture in a shank stiffener, which involves the use of a last having a hole extending through its rear portion from the top. of the cone to the bottom of the heel seat and which comprises the following steps or operations, viz., assembling, an upper'ari'dan insole on a last of the' type referred to, pulling-over and lasting the upper and securing it to the insole; passing a drill through the hole in the last and operating it to bore a hole through the insole in line with the hole in the last; laying a shank stiffener having a screw-receiving aperture in its rear portion upon the outsole and positioning the shank stiffener with its aperture accurately alined with the hole in the insole by means of a tapered wooden peg which is driven through the aperture in the stifl'ener and into the holes in the insole and the last; positioning a heel upon the shoe and clamping the heel in place; inserting the drill m to drill out the wooden peg and thus to reopen the hole previously formed in the insole and the aperture in the shank stiffener and to form alined holesin the outsole and in the heel which regis ter with the holes in the insole and the last"; and thereafter pulling the last andinserting a screwfastener from the inside of the shoe through the holes in the insole, the shank stiffener and the outsole and screwing the fastener into the heel. One object of the present invention isto secure the various advantages of the, above-disclosed method of shoe-making while making it still easier to locate the shank stifiener with its aperture suitably positioned for the passage of the drill andthe screw-fastener therethrough.

again in the hole in the last and operating it With this object in view the invention contemplates an improved method of making shoes which, considered in one aspect, comprises assembling a shoe bottom" member having a heelfastener-receiving aperture therein and a shank stiffener having a heel-fastener-receiving aper- .ture of substantially greater diameter than the aperture in the shoe bottom member and relatively positioning the stiffener and the shoe bottom member with said apertures in approximately 00- 5 axial relation, and securing the shank stiffener to the shoe bottom member to maintain the specified relation of said apertures and thus to insure clearance between the edge of the aperture in the shank stiffener and a heel-fastener of a type adapted to fit tightly within the aperture in the shoe bottom member. As herein exemplified, a shank stiffener is laid upon an insole or other shoe bottom member, and the eye in the stiffener is disposed in approximately coaxial relation to the hole in the in- 5 sole solely by visually gaging the relation between them, this being practicable because of the fact that the eye of the stifiener is substantially larger than the hole in the insole. As exemplified also in its application to the manufacture of welt shoes, an upper and an insole are assembled upon a last having a hole in its rear portion and a hole is bored through the insole in line with the hole in the last, preferably by means of a drill passed through and guided by the hole in the last; a shank stiffener having in its rear portion a circular aperture substantially greater in diameter than that of the hole in the insole is laid upon the insole and located in substantially coaxial relation to said hole, the operator being guided solely by the visual relation between the relatively large aperture in the stiffener and the relatively small hole in the insole injgaging the location of the stiffener, and the stiffener is secured to the insole so as to maintain it in its located position. This renders it unnecessary to employ any special gaging devices for locating the shank stiffener with its aperture in exact coaxial relation to the hole in the insole or to the hole in the last. Thereafter, as herein illustrated, an outsole is laid, a heel is applied to the shoe, a drill is passed through the hole in the last and through the holes in the insole and the stiffener and is operated to bore a hole through the outsole and into the heel, the last is pulled and an ordinary wood screw is inserted through the insole, the stiffener and the outsole and screwed into the hole in the heel so as to have holding engagement with the latter thus securely and permanently attaching the heel to the shoe. .As the screw is 11.

tightened its head will compress and solidify the insole material immediately beneath it and force it down into the space between the shank of the screw and the edge of the hole in the stiifener, thus filling that space and firmly anchoring the stiffener and rigidly connecting it to the heel so as eflectively to brace the latter against any tendency to tilt relatively to the shoe.

Regarded in another aspect invention is to be recognized as residing in the combination in a shoe, of a shoe bottom member having a heelfastener-receiving aperture therein, and a shank stiifener having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture of substantially greater size than the aperture in the bottom member, the stiffener and. the bottom member being relatively positioned and secured together with said apertures disposed in approximately coaxial relation to insure clearance between said stiffener and a heel-fastener fitting tightly within the aperture in the bottom member.

Invention is still further to be recognized as residing in a shank stiifener strip having an aperture or eye in one end portion for receiving a heel-attaching screw and having means illustrated as an upstanding prong projecting from the material at the edge of the eye for securing the strip to the shoe bottom member. As illustrated a plurality of prongs are struck up from the material at the edge of the eye, the prongs being arranged in pairs the members of which are diametrically opposed to each other and are inclined relatively to the adjacent surface of the strip in directions extending outwardly from the edge of the eye so as to clench within the material of the shoe bottom member to which the stiffener is applied. Also, as illustrated, a pair of attaching prongs are struck up at the forward end portion of the stiifener and provided with hooked extremities for clenching within the shoe bottom material.

The invention further consists in features of constructions and combinations and arrangements of parts and in improved methods of shoemaking hereinafter described and claimed the advantages of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an improved shank stiffener constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the shank stififener;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of 'a shank piece for a turn shoe constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of the assembled upper and inner sole of a welt shoe mounted upon a last, illustrating particularly the step of pre-drilling the inner sole;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the last and shoe parts shown in Fig. 6, illustrating particularly the step of positioning a shank stiffener upon the innersole;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the shoe parts shown in Fig. '7 as they appear after the shank stifiener has been attached to the innersole;

Fig. 9 is a view, similar to Fig. 6, but illustrating the step of pre-drilling the outer sole;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a welt shoe mounted upon a last, illustrating the step of drilling the heel to prepare it for the reception of a heel-attaching screw; and

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heel portion of a finished welt shoe, illustrating particularly the manner in which the heel is permanently attached by means of a screw which extends through the inner and outer soles and also through an aperture in the shank stiffener.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of thedrawings, the shank stiffener 14 therein shown'consists of a metallic strip comprising a narrow,- elongated portion 16 adapted to extend along the shank portion of a shoe and a somewhat enlarged or relatively wide rear portion 18 adapted to be located above the heel of the shoe and provided with an aperture, hole or eye 20 ior receiving a heel-attaching fastener such as the screw 22 shown in Fig. 11. The narrow portion 16 of the shank stiffener is longitudinally arched to correspond to the longitudinal arch of the shank portion of the last of a shoe in which the shank stiffener is to be incorporated and this narrow portion 16 is reinforced by means of a longitudinal stiffening rib 22 which is centrally disposed widthwise of the strip and projects from the longitudinally concave or outsole engaging side of the strip. The width of the elongated narrow portion 16 of the stiifener strip is such as to adapt it to fit within the narrow space between the portions of the sewing rib or the lasted-over upper margins which extend along the opposite sides of the shank portions of insoles of women's narrow shank shoes. It is to be noted that while the narrow portion 16 11 of the shank stiffener is enlarged at 18 sufliciently to prevent torsional or angular displacement of the stiffener and thus to prevent any substantial twisting of the shank portion of. the shoe, it is not enlarged sufllciently to interfere-with the use of 5 heel-attaching nails in case it should be desired to employ them in the locations in the heel seat of the shoe in which they are usually driven.

For the purpose of attaching the shank stiffener 14 to the innersole of a shoe, the stiffener is pro- 12 vided with suitable attaching prongs. As shown, four attaching prongs 26 are provided at the rear portion of the stiffener strip and two attaching prongs 28 are provided at the forward portion of the strip. In the embodiment of the invention herein shown, the four prongs 26 are struck up from the metal which is displaced in the process of forming the aperture 20, the prongs being equally spaced apart around the edge of the aperture 20 and each prong being inclined outwardly .and upwardly relatively to the body portion of the stiffener so that the free extremities of oppositely disposed prongs are farther apart than their base portions in order to enable the prongs to. clinch within the material of the innersole when driven therein. To facilitate the driving of the prongs into the innersole the free extremities of the prongs are beveled on their inner sides as shown at 36.

A pair of prongs 28 are provided at the forward portion of the stiffener, these'prongs being struck up from the strip separately so that separate holes 32 are formed by the striking operation. As shown, the body portions of the prong 28 extend substantially at right angles to the adjacent portion of the stiffener strip while the extreme ends or points of the prongs are turned toward each other so as to provide points or hooks 34 which are substantially parallel to the body of the strip. The prongs 28 are not long enough to extend 5 entirely through an innersole and the hooks 34 are adapted to clinch within the material of'the sole so as firmly to anchor the forward portion of the strip to the sole.

The aperture in the shank stiffener is made of a diameter substantially greater than that of the shank of the heel-attaching screw to obviate the necessity of having to locate the aperture in exact coaxial relation to the hole in'the insole in order to insure against interference of the shank stiffener with the operation of the drill or the insertion of the attaching screw and to enable the operator to locate the stiffener merely by eye without the use of any special gaging or locating devices for securing accurate registration of the holes in the stiflener and in the insole.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown a composite shank piece for a turn shoe comprising a stiffener member 38 and a filler piece 40. The stiffener member 38 consists of a metallic strip substantially similar in construction to the shank stiffener 14 already described. The filler piece 40, which may be formed of leatherboard or other suitable'material, has a marginal contour corresponding to that of the interior ofthe heel and shank portions of a shoe. .As shown, the filler piece is provided with an aperture 42 located substantially centrally of its heel portion for the reception of a heel-attaching screw, the circular hole 42 being of a diameter adapted to fit snugly the shank portion of the screw. The aperture in the rear sDOItiOIl of the stiffener strip 38 is substantially concentric with the hole 42.

The manner in which the shank stiffener 14 (shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive) is applied to a shoe will now be described' In order that the stiffener 14 shall be positioned in the shoe so that it will properly perform its intended functions, preferably the shoe is prepared and the shank stiffener assembled therewith, in accordance with an improved method of shoemaking which, as herein exemplified in the manufacture of welt shoes, involves the use-of a last A (Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive) of the type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,615,258, granted January 25, 1927, upon an application of M. V. Bresnahan, such a last having a hole B extending therethrough from the top of the cone to the heel seat face of the last to permit drilling operations to be performed in the soles and the heel of the shoe without removing the last and also to permit, if desired, the employment of a temporary screw fastener in the hole in the last for securing together the heel,

the shoe, and the last during the setting of ad hesive between the heel and the shoe bottom.

The operations involved in the practice of the illustrated method will now be described. An insole C having been secured to the bottom of the last A (Fig. 6) as by means of tacks in a customary manner, a shoe upper D is assembled on the lastand pulled over and lasted in the usual way. A hole E is then made through the insole in alinement with the hole 13 in the last by means of a suitable tool such as the drill F which, for this purpose, is passed downwardly through and is guided by the hole B. After the hole E has been drilled in the insole, the shoe may advantageously be sur ported in inverted position upon a jack pin G (Fig. to facilitate the application of the shank stiffener 14 to the insole. The shank stiffener is then laid upon the insole in such a position that the aperture or eye 20 will be approximately concentric with the hole B in the last. Because of the' relatively large diameter of the aperture 20 in the shank stiffener as compared with the diameter of the hole E in'the last, it is practicable for the operator to gage the location of the shank stiil'ener merely by his eye with- I out the employment of any special gaging or locating device, it being apparent that ample clearance for the drill and the heel-attaching screw, which are subsequently to be passed through the aperture 20, will be insured because of the relatively large diameter of the aperture even though the aperture should not be exactly centered with respect to the hole E in the insole.

The shank stiffener 14 having been located as described, the opposite end portions of the stiffener are struck by means of a hammer so as to drive the prongs 26 and 28 into the insole and thus permanently to secure the shank stifiene'r in place. The inclination of the prongs 26 and the hooked extremities of prongs 28 enable the prongs to clinch within the material of the insole so as to effectively retain the shank stiffener against dis placement.

After the shank piece has been thus secured to the insole, an outsole H is laid, rough-trimmed and channeled, stitched to the welt, leveled, and heel-seat fitted, all in the customary manner, the prongs 26 and 28 serving to maintain the approximately concentric relation of the aperture 20 in the shank stiffener with the hole E in the last and, furthermore, to prevent any widthwise displacement of the shank stiffener as a result of the action of the pressure roll during the leveling operation.

Preferably the drill F is again passed through the last and operated to drill a hole K in the outsole in line with the hole in the insole, as shown in Fig. 9.

The shoe is now ready to have a heel, such as the wood heel I shown in Fig. 10, attached thereto. Before the application of the heel to the shoe, adhesive is preferably applied to the heel seat of the shoe or to the seat face of the heel or to both of these surfaces. Thereafter the heel is placed in position'on the shoe and temporarily clamped on the shoe by means not herein shown. Any suitable clamping device may be used for this purpose, but preferably, a device is employed such as that shownin United States Letters Patent No. 1,722,992, granted August 6, 1929, upon application of F. E. Bertrand, the machine shown in that patent being adapted also to perform the drilling and temporary screw-fastenerinserting operations now to be described.

To prepare the heel to receive the heel fastener, adrill such as the drill J, which is smaller in diameter than the drill F (see Fig. 10), is passed downwardly through the hole B in the last and through the hole E in the insole and the aperture or eye in the shank stiffener and through the hole K in the outsole and operated to form a hole in the heel. The previous drilling of relatively large holes in the insole and outsole provides clearance for the drill J and facilitates its operation. in drilling the heel. Upon the removal of the drill J from the last, a temporary heel clamping device in the form of an elongated screw, not herein shown but disclosed in the Bresnahan Patent No. 1,615,258 hereinbefore referred to, is passed through the hole in the last and screwed into the hole in the heel. This temporary fastener serves to hold the heel in place during the setting of the adhesive at the heel seat and permits the clamp originally employed for holding the heel to the shoe to be released, thus enabling the shoe to be passed along through the shoe factory for the performance of various finishing operations of an ordinary wood screw, such as the screw 22 (Fig. 11), is inserted from the inside of the shoe, the screw passing downwardly through the hole E in the insole, the aperture 20 in the shank stiffener, the hole K in the outsole, and into the hole in the heel. The screw 22 is driven into holding engagement with the wood of the heel and the beveled head of the screw iscountersunk in the insole so that the upper surface of the screw head is iiush with the inner surface of the insole. If desired,

the usual heel-attaching nails may also be driven through the soles of the shoe and into the heel, the rear portion of the shank stiifener being so shaped and arranged that it will not interfere with the driving of these nails in the usual locations.

As the screw is tightened the material of the insole which is located immediately beneath the beveled head of the screw will be forced down- ,wardly into the portion of the aperture which is not already filled by the shank of the screw, thus enabling the screw head to countersink itself into the insole until its upper face is substantially flush with the inner surface of the insole. The insole material which is displaced into the aperture by the head of the screw completely fills the space between the shank of the screw and the edge of the aperture and is compressed and consolidated by being crowded past the beveled extremities and inclined inner faces of the prongs 26 so that a plug M of hardened leather is formed around the shank of the screw affording a practically rigid connection between the stiffener and the screw and effectively preventing the head of the screw from being pulled through the apertures in the insole and the stiifener by any strains to which the heel may be subjected. It is to be noted that the plug M is integral with the insoles, being connected therewith throughout the full thickness of the latter at points between the prongs 26 and that any tendency for the plug to become torn away from the body of the insole is offset by the outward and upward slope of the prongs. P

While the shank stiflen'er shown in Figs. 1 to 3 has been herein described in connection with its application to a welt shoe, it is equally well adapted for use in McKay-sewed shoes or other shoes in which a tread sole preliminarily cut sub-' stantially to final marginal contour is directly secured to the upper of the shoe as, for example, in shoes in which the tread sole is attached by cement. In the case of such shoes it may be found desirable to form the heel-fastener-receiving aperture in the insole prior to the application of the insole to the last instead of forming the aperture by means of a drill passed through a hole in the last. If the aperture in the insole is to be made before application of the insole to the last, the aperture, of course, will be located in a predetermined position, such that it will register with the hole in the last when the insole has been properly positioned upon the last bottom. Registry of the hole in the insole with the hole in the .last may be effected by gaging from the rear of the last or by gaging from the hole in the'last.

' For use in the manufacture of turn shoes a of the shank piece having been preliminarily formed in position to register with the hole in the last. If the shoe is to have a sewed heel seat the shank piece may be inserted inside of the shoe after the first last has been pulled and positioned with its aperture 42 alined with the hole in the second last merely by fitting the shank'piece inside of the shoe prior to the relasting opera-. tion, the location of the shank piece being determined by engagement of the edge of the shank piece with the interior of the shoe upper. If,

however, the shoe is to be finished with a nailed heel seat, the shank piece may be introduced between the second last and the unattached heel portion of the sole prior to the nailing of the heel seat and the aperture in the shank piece may be alined with the hole in the last by means of a suitable locating pin temporarily inserted through the aperture in the shank piece and extended intothe hole in the last.

Inasmuch as the plug M of compressed and hardened leather completely fills the space surrounding the shank of the screw within the aperture in the shank stiffener, there can be no relative shifting movement lengthwise of the shoe between the shank stiffener and the heel and thus the shank stiifener is permanently secured in such relation lengthwise of the shoe as to maintain the longitudinal arch in the shank of the shoe in conformity with the corresponding arch of the last upon which the shoe is made. Moreover, the shank stiffener, the inner and outer soles, and the heel are all firmly secured together so that there can be no relative tipping of the heel and the shoe in directions lengthwise of the shoe, such as would tend to open up the joint between the heel breast and the outsole. Consequently, the desired angular relation between the heel and the shank portion of the shoe is insured throughout the life of the shoe. Furthermore, the above advantages are obtained without the necessity of providing in the shank stiffener an aperture which is adapted to fit tightly within the shank of the heel-fastening screw and which accordingly must be located accurately in exact registration with the hole in the insole. Not only does the provision of a relatively large aperture in the shank stiifener obviate the necessity of accurately locating the aperture relatively to the hole in the insole as""already pointed out but it also insures against breakage of drills and stripping of threads from the attaching screws as a result of the drills and the screws coming into contact with the metal of the shank stiffener.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists in assembling a shoe bottom member having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture therein and a shank stiffener having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture of substantially greater diameter than the aperture in said member and relatively positioning said member and said stiffener with said apertures in substantially concentricrelation, and securing said member and said stiffener together to maintain said relation of said apertures to insure clearance between the edg of the aperture in the stiffener and a heel fastener of a type adapted to fit tightly within the aperture in said member.

2. That improvement in methods of making shank pieces for turn shoes which consists in assembling a filler piece having a heel-fastenerreceiving aperture therein and a shank stiffener a v 'heel fastener receiving aperture of greater diameter than theaperture of said filler shoes which comprises forming aheel-fastenerreceiving hole in a shoe bottom member,

upon said member a shank piece having. a screwreceiving eye of substantially greater diameter than said hole while disposing said hole and said eye in approximately coaxial relation solely by visually gaging the relation between them, and securing the shank piece tothe shoe bottom member to maintain the approximately coaxial relation of said hole and said eye. 1

4. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises forming a heel-fastenerreceiving hole in a shoe bottom member, assembling with said bottom member a sh'anhpiece having a heel-fastener-receiving eye substantially larger than said hole and, relatively positioning said parts with said eye and said hole in approximately concentric relation, and subsequently forcing material fromsaid bottom member into said eye to assist-in preventing relative displacement of said bottom member and said shank piece. v

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes of the type having a bottom member provided with a relatively small fastener-receiving hole and a shank piece provided with arelatively large fastener-receiving hole which consists in securing the bottom member and shank piece together with said holes in approximately concentric relation and assembling with said parts an upper, a tread sole and a heel, passing a fastener through the holes in said bottom member and said shank piece and through the tread sole and into the heel to secure the'heel to the shoe, and forcing'material from said bottom member into the hole in the shank piece around the shank of the screw to assist in preventing relative displacement of said bottom member and the shank piece.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which comprises forming a relatively small heel-fastener-receiving hole in an innersole, assembling with said innersole a shank stiffener having a relatively large heel-fastener-receiving hole disposed in substantially concentric relation to the hole in said bottom member, assembling an outersole and a heel with said bottom member and the shank stiffener, driving, through said holes and through the tread sole and into the heel, a wood screw having a shank portion adapted to fit the relatively small hole in the innersole, and utilizing'the head of the screw to displace the innersole material beneath it into the hole in the shank stiffener around the lshoeand to displace material "from the tiller 3. That improvement in methods or making tiveLv positioning said parts with said eye and said hole in approximately concentric relation. laying an outsoie, forming a hole through the outsole in serting said composite shank piece in ajzum shoe;

driving'a wood screw through the in the shankpiece and through the tread sole and into the heel of the shoe 'to secure the heel -to the member of the shank piece to fill-"the portion ,of the hole in the shank'stiifener surrounding .theshankofthescrewr Y methods of making 8 That improvementlnf a shoes which comprises forming a heel-fastenerreceiving hole in a. shoe bottom member, assemblingwithsaid bottom member a shank piece; having a heel-fastener-receiving eye and re'lalinewith the hole inthe insole, applying a heel to the shoe,-operatingthrough the hole in the last to form a hole in the heel, and inserting a fastener through the holes in the insole and outsoleand through the eye in the shank piece and into the heelto attach the heel to the shoe. 1 i

9; In a shoe, a shoe bottom member having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture therein, and a shank stiflener having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture of substantially greater size than the aperture in said bottom member, said shank stiffener and said bottom member being relatively positioned and secured together with said aper- 05 tures in approximately coaxial relation.

.to insure clearance between said stiffener and a heel-fastener fltting'tightly within the aperture insaid bottom member.

10. A shank piece for a turn shoe comprising a 10 illler member, having a heel-fastener-receiving aperture therein, and a shank stiffener having a .heel-fast'ener-receiving aperture of substantially fastener fitting tightly within the aperture in said I filler member. 11. A shoe comprising a bottom member, a tread sole, a heel, a shank stiffener between said member and said sole having anaperture in its rear portion, and a screw extending through said bottom member and said aperture and said tread 5 solea'nd into said heel for securing the heel to the shoe, the aperture in the shank piece being substantially greater in diameter than the shank of the screw and being filled around the shank of the screw by material displaced fromsaid bottom member.

12. A shoe an upper, a bottom member, a tread sole, a heel, a shank stiffener located between the bottom member and the tread sole and secured to the bottom member and having an eye at one end portion thereof, a screw having a head embedded in said bottom member and having a shank portion of substantially less diameter than the eye in the shank stiffener ex- 1 'tending through said bottom member and through 0 the eye of, the shank stifiener and .through the tread sole and into the heel for attaching the heel to the shoe, and a plug beneath the head of the screw comprising material displaced from said bottom member and filling the space around the shank of the screw within the eye of the shank stiffener.

13. A shank stiffener strip having an eye in one end portion for receiving a heel-attaching screw and having an upstanding prong projecting from 5 securing 14. A longitudinally arched shankstiffener strip provided at one end with an enlargedpcrtion having an eye for receiving a heel-attaching screw, said enlarged portion having means formed fintegrally therewith at the edge of the eye and projecting from the longitudinally convex side of stri the stiffener strip, said means being constructed and arranged securely to attach the stiflener strip to an innersole or filler piece in a manner tending to prevent angular displacement of the stiffener stripina.shoe.

15. A shank stiflenervstrip having an eye at one end portion thereof for receiving a heel-atta'chingscrew and having a prong projecting from the material at the edge of the eye for securing the strip to a shoe bottom member, said prong being inclined relatively to the adjacent surface .of the strip.

18. A shank stiffener strip having an eye in one end portion thereof for-receiving a heel-attaching screw and having a pair of opposed upstanding prongs projecting from the material at the edge of the eye for attaching the stiifener strip to an innerscle or iiller piece.

17. A shank stiffener strip having an eye in one end portion thereof for receiving a heel-at- ,tachingscrew andhavingapairof opposedupstanding prongs projecting from the material at edgeof the eye for attaching the stiifener l8. Ashankstiflenerstriphavmganeyeinone end portion thereof for receiving a heel-attaching screw and having a plurality of upstanding prongs -projectingfromthematerialattheedgeofthe eye for attaching'the strip to a shoe bottom memher, the prongs being arranged in pairs, the memb01101 which are diametrically opposed to each 19. A shankstiflener strip having in one end portion an eye for receiving a heel-attaching.

acrew,andapairofoppcsedupsta.ndingattachprojeotingi'romthematerialatthe theeye'andhavingattheoppcsiteend 908 portion of. the strips. pair of. opposed/attaching pmngs having hooked extremities for clenching within the of a shoe bottom member.

20. A shank stiflener comprising a longitudinally arched strip having an enlarged end portion provided with an eye for receiving a heelattaching screw and 'having opposed attaching prongs projecting from the material at the edge of the eye, the prongs being turned upwardly at the longitudinally convex side of the stiffener p. 21. A shank stiffener for a turn shoe comprising a iiller piece and a reinforcing strip, thei'iller piece being shaped to conform to the interior outline of the shank and heel portions of the bottom of a shoe and having a fastener-receiving hole formed in its rear portion, the reinforcing strip having an eye in one end portion substantially greater in diameter than the hole in the filler piece, and the strip being secured to the filler piece with said eye in coaxial alinement with said hole.

22. A shank stiffener for a turn shoe comprising a filler piece and a reinforcing strip, the filler piece being shaped to conform to the interior outline of the shank and heel portions of the bottom of a shoe, and the reinforcing strip havinganeyeinoneendportionandhavlngamo pair of prongs projecting from the material at the edge of the eye and entering the material of the filler piece to secure the stiffener strip to the filler piece, said prongs being diametrically opposed and being inclined relatively to the ap- 105 proximatesuriaeesofthestripandfillerpiecein directions extending outwardly from the edge of the eye in the stiifener-strip. 23. A shank stiffener for a turn shoe comprising a filler piece and a reinforcing strip, the 110 filler piece being shaped to conform to the interior outline of the shank and heel portions of the bottom of a shoe, and the reinforcing strip havingan eye in one end portion and having a pair of prongs projecting from the material at 15 FRANCIS L. 

